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Tuesday, Apr 04, 2006

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Opinion - Leader Page Articles

France in ferment, anger on the streets

Vaiju Naravane

Although protests have polarised around changes to labour laws, the real discontent runs far deeper. The direct street action is born of despair, of the conviction that nothing concrete can or will ever be delivered by the political or business establishment.

MALAISE IS a word the French are all too familiar with. For almost 10 years now, its economic and political pundits have been saying France is in decline and if the political establishment fails to react, French society will inevitably find itself in the grip of deep social strife. With massive demonstrations, sit-ins, and strikes growing over eight weeks, that scenario now appears to be coming true.

Although protests have polarised around changes to existing labour laws with the introduction of a new employment contract (CPE), the real discontent runs far deeper. France is plagued by extremely high youth unemployment — as much as 25 per cent of the active population, a figure that touches almost 50 per cent in certain underprivileged, mainly immigrant-populated, suburbs. Over the years, and especially with the introduction of the Euro, French households have seen their real incomes dwindle. The economy is sluggish, national debt on the rise, and job creation stagnant. Burdened by heavy taxation and attracted by cheaper labour elsewhere, several companies have shut down operations in France.

President Jacques Chirac's campaign promises to repair the "social fracture" that cleaves French society have remained a dead letter. The French are beginning to realise they have been taken for a massive ride by the country's clique of fat-cat elites. There is a feeling of hopelessness in the air and the direct street action is born of despair, of the conviction that nothing concrete can or will ever be delivered by the political or business establishment.

The protests have focalised around the CPE, a new employment contract for under-26-year-olds with an exceptionally lengthy trial period during which they can be fired at any time without explanation. An interminable stand-off between Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and trade unions, student bodies and the left-wing opposition gave rise to calls for direct intervention by President Chirac.

On Friday, in a nationwide televised address, he announced he would promulgate the new labour legislation but that he would introduce another bill in parliament significantly watering down certain controversial clauses in the present law. This left constitutional experts mulling over what exactly he meant since the present law, which has led to huge demonstrations across France, will be promulgated but not applied in its present form. In a solemn address carried live from the Elysee palace on television and radio, Mr. Chirac said he had decided to promulgate the law because it had been voted through parliament and because "I believe the First Employment Contract [CPE] can be an effective tool for employment."

However, he also said he had understood the "anxieties being expressed by many young people and their parents" over the contract. "That is why I have asked the government to immediately prepare two modifications to the law on the points which have been at the heart of the debate. The trial period of two years shall be reduced to one year. And if the contract is broken, the right of the young worker to know the reasons shall be written into the new law," he said. The President said Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin — who brought in the CPE — would take steps to ensure that "in practice no contract can be signed that does not fully include these modifications."

This was President Chirac's way of supporting his beleaguered Prime Minister while giving the impression that he had heard the call of the street. But the French were not convinced. An opinion poll conducted immediately after the presidential address showed 78 per cent of those questioned found their President "woefully inadequate." The reaction of student bodies, trade unions, and the left-wing opposition was immediate and hostile. They vowed to continue the fight and said another nationwide strike would take place on Tuesday, April 4. The opposition Socialist Party has since called for an abrogation of the CPE and a parliamentary re-examination of a range of issues concerning employers' rights to hire and fire personnel.

Conceived by Mr. de Villepin to inject flexibility into the labour market and bring down youth unemployment, the CPE has provoked a massive backlash. Events in France today are an example of representative democracy versus direct participatory democracy. Both President Chirac and Prime Minister de Villepin contend the legislation is valid and cannot be contested because it was passed by Parliament. Students, the left-wing opposition, and trade unions argue that the Government cannot fail to heed the unpopularity of the measure. They also say the law was not properly voted but forcibly pushed through Parliament by decree. Nor were any of these bodies consulted prior to tabling the new legislation.

"What I find astonishingly and unacceptably arrogant is the fact that the future of this country's youth is being decided upon without ever asking the young their opinion. After all it is our future that is being toyed with," student leader Bruno Julliard said.

The protests are being played out against the background of next year's presidential elections, with intense rivalry between the Prime Minister and his number two, Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy, who has made no secret of his presidential ambitions. The Prime Minister had hoped to score points with the electorate and trounce his rival by bringing down France's very high unemployment figures. He has clearly failed in his enterprise. Mr. de Villepin's political future appears increasingly uncertain with a growing number of UMP deputies speaking out in favour of negotiations.

Mr. Sarkozy sought to distance himself from the Government's hard line stand on the protests, and did not hesitate to twist the knife declaring in an interview: "When there is a difference of views there has to be a compromise. There's no shame in it. It's not a dirty word. Real negotiations have to begin with no preconditions."

The Prime Minister has been able to get away without getting too much egg on his face. On March 30, the country's Constitutional Council — the state body that decides on the constitutionality of new laws — ruled that the legislation was fully in keeping with the tenets of the Constitution. This shored up the Prime Minister's position but left him facing the ire of the street.

Political observers say that never has a Prime Minister had as much hold over a President as Mr. de Villepin does over Mr. Chirac. They attribute Mr. Chirac's inertia to his reversal in last year's referendum on the European Constitution. A resounding majority of French voters rejected the constitution treaty, dealing a major blow to the President's authority. One of the qualities the President values above all else is loyalty and insiders say Mr. de Villepin, who started his career as an ambitious career diplomat, is being rewarded for staying the course beside Mr. Chirac, whose power base has now been captured by Mr. Sarkozy.

But when push comes to shove, Mr. Chirac has always given in to public opinion. If the protests continue with the same intensity, he could abrogate the law instituting the CPE. Writing in Liberation, one of the country's top political commentators Alain Duhamel said Mr. Chirac's instinct forged over many years in power was to give way to the rising tide of street protests. "However he is bound by an intense personal bond with the Prime Minister which makes the President more dependent on Villepin than the other way round," Mr. Duhamel said.

Commentators also see these street protests as the common man's ultimate response to a bankrupt leadership. France is often described as a "democratic monarchy," which concentrates almost all powers in the hands of the President. He names the government, which can bypass parliament by ruling through decree. At the end of his term next year, Mr. Chirac will have ruled France for almost 12 years. Little of significance has been achieved during that period. The country's national debt has increased steadily, high unemployment has become a fixture on the agenda, economic growth has remained extremely sluggish, and the gap between the rich and poor has risen significantly, a fact underscored by the suburban riots that shook the country last October.

France is being criticised as "a rigid, pampered society unwilling to adapt to globalisation." While there is some truth in those claims, it is also true that most French persons fail to grasp the logic of job cutbacks in the face of continued and record profits by companies.

"The profit levels are such that when a company says it is going to reduce staff today in order to stay competitive two years down the line — that is when I see red. Does that mean only the shareholders count, only profits matter? And what about the huge bonuses company managers give themselves — millions of dollars in stock options, special bonuses and if things go wrong, astronomical sums in the form of severance pay? What about the poor worker toiling for the minimum wage? Can we at least not give the lowest of the low some job security? Or do we have to accept the no-holds barred savage capitalism that we call globalisation," asks CGT union member Rene Leclerc.

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